JANESVILLE — GEA Food Technology last week officially opened its new Application and Technology Center at its expanded facility in Janesville.
GEA develops and provides equipment and technologies for food processing and packaging, with a focus on solutions for alternative proteins and new food production.
The $20 million facility on S Wuthering Hills Drive is the company’s second global Center of Excellence dedicated to alternative proteins and sustainable food solutions as alternatives to traditional foods such as meat, dairy, seafood and eggs.
The new facility creates new skilled jobs in Janesville, including engineering and scientific roles, and complements GEA’s existing operations in the city, where 74 employees work at the Separation & Flow Technologies facility. The center also supported up to 500 contractor and subcontractor jobs during construction and strengthens the region’s food technology ecosystem.
“This facility reflects how Janesville’s rich agricultural and industrial heritage can intersect with cutting-edge innovation,” said Jimsi Kuborn, Economic Development Director for the City of Janesville. “It not only honors our community’s roots, but also creates new opportunities for partnerships, workforce development, and sustainable growth. This project is a model for what’s possible—not just for Janesville, but for the entire Midwest and beyond.”
GEA’s first Application and Technology Center was launched in Hildesheim, Germany, in 2023. The new facility expands the GEA Janesville campus, which has served as a site for production, repair, logistics and training since 2024.
The Janesville The Janesville ATC bridges the gap between laboratory innovation and industrial-scale production, according to a news release.
The facility combines core GEA process technologies that are essential to producing next-generation proteins at scale.
Advanced lab capabilities complete the center’s offering, enabling microbiological, cell-based, and analytical testing under one roof.
“The food industry is at a crossroads. To feed future generations sustainably, we must turn vision into scalable reality. Our new center in Janesville is a key milestone on our shared journey – both for our customers and for us as a company,” says Stefan Klebert, CEO of GEA Group. “With this investment, we are helping our customers scale up the production of novel foods such as precision-fermented egg white and cultivated seafood. At the same time, we are strengthening our North American footprint, where our 1,600 employees at 16 locations support manufacturing, sales, service, training, and testing.”
“The food industry is at a crossroads. To feed future generations sustainably, we must turn vision into scalable reality. Our new center in Janesville is a key milestone on our shared journey – both for our customers and for us as a company,” says Stefan Klebert, CEO of GEA Group. “With this investment, we are helping our customers scale up the production of novel foods such as precision-fermented egg white and cultivated seafood. At the same time, we are strengthening our North American footprint, where our 1,600 employees at 16 locations support manufacturing, sales, service, training, and testing.”